Orissa

Ancient Orissa had a number of important ports such as Paloura, Tamralipti
and Dharmra along Orissa's 482 km long open coastline. It is little wonder then
that a flourishing maritime trade existed between Paloura (now Puri) and the
Indonesian islands. As a result, the influence of the Pali language and Buddhism
spread, in due course, to Southeast Asia. The old Buddhist connection with these
regions is visible in the 'Peace Pagoda' built by the Japanese Buddhists in this
century and the Dhavateswar temple on the Dhauli hilltop near Bhubaneswar. It is
noteworthy that the first Aryan immigration from India into Ceylon also took
place from the shores of Kalinga. The first known history of the state comes
into light with the Ashokan victory over the independent ruler of this place,
which led to mass killings and devastation of the region. The extent of violence
perpetrated by his men and its effect of the victims led to a change in the
heart of Ashoka and he accepted Buddhism as his way of life. In the first
century BC, under King Kharvel, the most famous of Kalinga rulers, Buddhism
declined as the major religion and Jainism was restored. The cave inscriptions
of Khandgiri and Udayagiri give a lot of information about the rule of King
Kharvel and much other information about the society at that point of time.
Later, Jainism gave way to Hinduism in around 7th century AD. This was the time
when the ruling dynasties were the Ganga and Kesari, who constructed some of the
most magnificent temples in India.
After the decline of these dynasties, the local kingdoms fought hard to keep the
Muslims away, but by the end in 16th century, the Mughals defeated them and
gained control over this region. After the decline of the Mughals, Orissa was
ruled by the Marathas and the British. Orissa became a separate province under
the British Government in 1936.